Originally Posted by
kbarch
So you know... But the weirdest thing to me is choosing such a road in the first place. The novelty of expressways soon wears off and I think - of all the roads I could be on, why would I want to be
here?!
I think that's the biggest difference between driving and recreational cycling - on a bike, you usually choose roads because you actually want to be on each one (more or less); in a car, you usually choose them so you can be off them all as soon as possible.
Not all Interstates are created equal. We had to ride I-94 heading east of Steele, ND during an organized tour because there were no other paved options. We were on it for 9 miles. Only a couple of cars. A few years ago I took I-90 to get into Spearfish, SD because the other road heading into town had no shoulder and looked to have a fair amount of traffic. I've been on far worse non-highways. If you go to Google Maps, look up Melrose, MT and use Street View to poke around north and south on I-15 you will find a pretty empty highway. I have hung out under an I-15 overpass there a few times while taking a shade break and applying sunblock. Sometimes 10 or more minutes elapsed between vehicles passing overhead.
I-90 looking west towards Spearfish, SD:
